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Animal Transport Cage

A pet carrier will generally be suitable for transporting animals home, or as needed for other reasons, but if you have many animals, this can add up and get expensive. It is simple to build a cage to transport small animals.

You can use pretty much any kind of wire mesh - from the 2 X 3 inch "dog fence" mesh, down to 1/4 or 1/2 inch hardware cloth. Just make sure the animals that you are putting in it can't squeeze out through the mesh - the dog fence mesh is barely small enough to contain grown Bantam chickens, and will not contain any animal smaller than that.

Use J-Clips to fasten the pieces together - place them every 2 inches along the seams. You can also use them to make a hinge for a door. Small spring-claw hair-clips (the tiniest size available) make great tools to hold the door closed!

Make your cage large enough to hold several animals. Make the bottom out of half-inch hardware cloth, so you can use it with, or without, bedding. That size grid holds in straw bedding nicely.

We made two that are 18" wide, by 24" long, by 18" tall. They hold chickens, rabbits, and horizontal ducks - they don't hold upright ducks, geese, or turkeys, which require a taller cage.

We have another that is 2 ft X 3 ft, and 2 ft tall. It will hold about 8 Muscovies for short distance travel.

You can crowd animals more for travel than you would for long term accommodations, but give them room to move around or they may overheat, or pile on one another and potentially cause harm. Crowded animals are also more prone to fighting. Drape a blanket over the cages to make it dark inside if you are transporting small animals that are easily frightened or which get combative with each other if confined closely.

Anything with a bottom bigger than 2 ft X 3 ft won't hold together well when lifted and moved - even that size gets a bit wobbly.

If transporting goats or other larger animals, it is best to use a horse trailer, or other conveyance designed for transporting livestock.

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